House-door letter-box



(Mod e1.)

' H. K. DAY.

HOUSE DOOR. LETTER BOX.

No. 460,117. Patented Sept. 29', 1891.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY K. DAY, .OF ELYRIA, OHIO.

HOUSE-DOOR LETTER-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,117, dated September 29, 1891.

Application filed December 18, 1890. Serial No. 375,061- (MocleL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY K. DAY, of Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Letter-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in letter-boxes, and has for its object to provide a box of simple and durable construction capable of being conveniently and expeditiously opened by the postman and of being looked after the mail has been placed therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a box the front of which may be utilized for the attachment of a name-plate, if desired, and also to attach to the box a paper or package receptacle, quickly placed in position for use, but which when not required may be practically hidden.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forminga part of this specification, in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a rear elevation of a letter-box, the package-receptacle being folded up thereon. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken near the center, the packagereceptaole being illustrated in position for use; and Fig. 3 is an end View of the letter-box with the packagereccptacle in the position illustrated in Fig. 1.

The body of the box consists of a skeleton frame A and a drop door B. The frame is preferably of rectangular shape, open at the front and back and adapted for attachment to a door or other support through the medium of cleats or brackets 10 or their equivalents. The drop-door is preferably wider and longer than the frame and is pivoted 1n the lower portion of the latter, usually by passing a pin 11 through the upturned ends of the angle-plate 11, secured to the inner face of the door, the horizontal member whereof is preferably of the width of the bottom of the frame and extends over said bottom, being provided with arms 12, extending upward from the inner edge. The letters when placed in the box are deposited between the arm 12 and the door. The door is usually provided with a series of apertures at one side, and a gong 14 is secured upon the outer face, covering the apertures. The hammer 15 of the gong is fast to one end of a spring 16. The spring is usually made to comprise two members, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, and is bent somewhat to a U shape. Acoil is formed at the bow portion of the spring and loosely placed around a suitable stud. One member is essentially straight, and at the lower end of it a hammer is placed. The other member is curved inward at or near the center, forming an angular projection 17,.and the bottom of the member is bent to produce an angular foot, the inner end whereof is secured to the door. Latch-levers 18 are somewhat centrally pivoted upon the inner face of the door near the top. Two levers are usually employed, the inner extremities of which overlap and are pivotally connected by a single stud 19 with a verticallymovable trip-bar 20, located at the center of the door, which tripbar is of sufficient length to extend above the frame when the door is closed and terminates at its upper end in a knob ora book 21. Latch-heads a are formed at the outer extremities of the lovers and extend inward at a right angle to the door, being slotted to re ceive studs 22, which serve as keepers and are located upon the inner face of the sides of the frame. The trip-bar is provided with a slot through which a pin passes, as shown in Fig. 1. The slot limits the movement of the bar, and the heads of the latch-levers are held normally in position to engage with their keepers by means of a spring 23, having one end attached to the door and the other bearing against the underside of the stud 19. In order to disengage the latch-levers from the frame, the trip-bar is pushed downward; but as soon as released the bar is forced upward by the spring and the levers are restored to their normal position. At both the upward and downward movement of the trip-bar the gong is sounded, and this is accomplished through the medium of a pin 24, extending outward from the trip-bar through a suitable slot in the door, engaging with the angular projection 17 of the spring carrying the hammer, whereby the hammer member of the spring is vibrated each time the pin passes the projection and an alarm is sounded.

In connection with the trip-bar a locking device is employed, which consists of a threearmed bolt 25, pivoted upon the door near the lower edge thereof. The bolt is composed of three members, comprising two horizontal members and one vertical member. The vertical member is adapted to engage with the lower end of the trip-bar, which is slightly beveled, and a spring 26 is attached to one horizontal member of the bolt, the other end of the spring being secured to the door. The third member of the bolt is adapted to rest upon a locking-bar 2'7, placed horizontally upon the door, the outer end only of the bar being secured to the door, the inner end, with which the bolt engages, being free to move inward or outward. The locking-bar is made of spring metal, and when in its normal position the bolt-arm rests upon the upper edge of it, as shown in Fig. 1. The free end of the locking-bar, however, may be pushed inward through the medium of a button 28, located at the front of the door and passing through an aperture therein to a connection with the bar, and when the free end of the bar is-thus pressed inward the spring 26 acts to force the horizontal member engaging with the locking-bar downward between the bar and the door, thus causing the vertical member of the bolt to engage with the beveled end of the trip-bar, and when the bolt 25 is in such engagement with the trip-bar the said bar cannot be pressed downward to release the door from the frame until a key has been inserted in a key-hole beneath the latch 25 and the member thereof engaging with the locking-bar forced upward.

In connection with the boX I employa pack age-receptacle O, which usually consists of a horizontal bar 29, provided with a central handle 30 and essentially U or\! shaped arms 31, extending upward from the ends of the bar, the outer members being, preferably, shorter than the inner ones. The bar-section of the receptacle is located below the box, and when not in use practically engages with its, bottom surface. The longer member of the arm extends upward through apertures in brackets 32, secured to the outer side faces of the frame near the bottom, and the shorter member bears against the inner face of the cover near the side margins thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. Both members of the arms have their upper ends enlarged in any suitable or approved manner.

The gong and its striking mechanism are concealed and protected from injury by a plate 33, semicircular in cross-section or domeshaped, screwed, bolted, or otherwise attached to the cover. This plate usually has the word Letters produced upon it; but, if found desirable, the said word may be concealed by a name-plate 34:, connected with the domeshaped plate only.

When the member of the three-armed bolt 25 rests upon the locking-bar 27, as shown in Fig. 1, the trip-bar 20 is released from the bolt and may be pressed down by the carrier to disengage the latch-levers '18 from the studs 22 on the frame, when the door will drop by gravity, and the letters may be placed in the box. After the letters have been deposited in the box the lid is raised, when the catchlevers 18 will engage the studs 22 and hold the door closed. Now to lock the door it is only necessary to push the locking-bar 27 inward by its knob 28 to disengage the member of the bolt 25 from the said bar, when the vertical member of the said bolt will be thrown under the lower end of the trip-bar 20, and thereby prevent any downward movement of the said bar and consequently prevent the latch-levers 18 from being disengaged from the studs 22 of the frame. To unlock the door, a key is inserted in the key-hole below the bolt 25 and the said bolt turned upon its pivot to throw its vertical member from below the trip-bar 20, when the bolt will be supported in this position by the locking-bar 27 and the door readily opened by manipulating the trip-bar, as before described. In the event that packages are to be delivered, the racklike receptacle 0 is drawn downward, whereupon the shorter members of the arms spring outward from the longer members and form a pocket.

It will be understood from the description heretofore given that upon both the upward and the downward movement of the trip-bar an alarm is sounded upon the gong.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In a letter-box, the combination, with a frame and a door hinged thereto, of latch-levers and a sliding trip-bar pivotally connected with the levers, as and for the'purpose specified.

2. In a letter-box, the combination, with a frame and a door hinged thereto, latch-levers locking the door to the frame, and a sliding trip-bar pivotally connected with the latchlevers, of a spring-pressed angular bolt pivoted below the trip-bar and a spring lockingbar secured at one end and free at the other, one member of the angular bolt being adapted to engage with the locking-bar and the other with the trip-bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In a letter-box, the combination, with a frame provided with keepers and a drop-door hinged to the frame, of a trip-bar held to slide upon the door, latchlevers fulcrumed at each side of the trip-bar and having their inner ends pivoted to said bar, and a spring having a bearing against the trip-bar at its pivotal connection with the latch-levers, as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a letter-box, the combination, with the frame and a drop-door hinged thereto, of a trip-bar held to slide upon the door, latch- III) levers fulcrumed at each side of the trip-bar engaging with the frame and having theirinner ends pivotally connected to the trip-bar, a spring bearing against the trip-bar at its connection with the levers, a gong located upon the outer face of the door, a spring carrying a hammer adapted for engagement with the gong, and a pin connected with the trip bar and engaging the said spring, as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a letter-box, the combination, with a frame, a drop-door hinged thereto and provided with a horizontal extension at its pivotal end, and arms projected upward from said extension, of a spring-pressed trip-bar held to slide upon the cover, latch-levers fulcrurned at each side of the trip-bar and having their inner ends connected therewith, a spring-pressed angled bolt fulcrumed upon the door belowthe trip-bar and provided with a vertical and a horizontal member, the vertical member being adapted for engagement with the trip-bar, a spring locking-bar secured at one end and free at the other end, the free end being adapted for engagement with the horizontal member of the bolt, and a knob located upon the outer face of the door and connected with the free end of the locking-bar, as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a letter-box, the combination, with a box, of a package receptacle or pocket consisting ofa bar located beneath the box and essentially U shaped arms extending upward from the ends of the bar, one member of said arms being adapted to slide in bearings attached to the box, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a letter-box, the combination, with a box provided with apertured brackets attached to its ends, of a package receptacle or pocket consisting of a bar located beneath the box and having an attached handle and essentially U-shaped arms projected upward from the ends of the bar, the outer members of the said arms being shorter than the inner members, and the inner members being held to slide in the brackets of the box, as and for the purpose set forth.

8. In a letter-box, the combination, With the door thereof having a gong attached to its outer face, and striking mechanism located partially Within and partially without the door, of a casing-plate, semicircular in crosssection, secured to the outer face of the door and covering the gong and the striking mechanism thereof, the said casing-plate being adapted to receive a name-plate, as and for the purpose specified.

HENRY K. DAY. lVitnesses:

WM. G. SHARP, E. (J. MANTER. 

